Workers' contact with a nanoscale material depends on more than its chemical name. EPA's January 12, 2017 reporting rule asks for exposure information, including estimates of the number of people exposed at work and descriptions and duration of the tasks involved. Those fields belong to reports on covered discrete forms, making the form of the material part of the information question. [2017-00052]

Coverage is narrower than every tiny particle. The final definition concerns substances solid at 25 degrees Celsius and standard atmospheric pressure, with particles in the 1–100 nanometer range in at least one dimension, manufactured or processed for unique size-dependent properties. Forms with less than one percent by weight of particles in that range are excluded. Further exemptions also apply; reporting scope does not establish safety. [2017-00052]

The requested information is limited to what is known or reasonably ascertainable. Existing health and environmental information is among the report fields, but the rule does not require new testing or assume nanoscale materials necessarily cause harm. For workers and surrounding communities, that means a reporting obligation should not be mistaken either for a finding of injury or for a completed protective intervention. [2017-00052]

Timing changed from the April 2015 proposal: covered prior manufacturers and processors would have had six months after effectiveness to report, while the final allows one year. The original final issue schedules May 12, 2017 effectiveness. These are stages of one EPA process, not independent evidence of reduced exposure. Their concrete contribution is a framework for gathering material-specific information about tasks, releases and protective practices. [2017-00052][2015-07497]

Source documents

  1. Chemical Substances When Manufactured or Processed as Nanoscale Materials; TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirementshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-12/html/2017-00052.htm
  2. Chemical Substances When Manufactured or Processed as Nanoscale Materials; TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirementshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-04-06/html/2015-07497.htm